


If the Earth Didn't Want Icarus

by orphan_account



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan Is The Sun, M/M, Mark Lee (NCT)-centric, Mutual Pining, barely angsty, christmas play as a plot device
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-09 09:22:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27468673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Mark discovers that you only have to let go of gravity to touch the Sun.(Mark had always thought that it was a big mistake he and Donghyuck had met, and an even bigger mistake that he had fallen in love.)
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	If the Earth Didn't Want Icarus

_2 months ago..._

Mark’s eyes have been out of focus for the last minute, and he hasn’t attempted to refocus it. He is staring at nothing at all, feeling blissfully empty. Vaguely, in the back of his mind, he remembers something about a Bach model-something essay. As of the moment, he can’t be bothered at all.

A sharp blur of blue enters his vision with a loud _thud!_ It snaps Mark back to reality. He startles, blinking at the navy clad figure across him.

A smile is thrown at him, canines glinting. The action makes a familiar thrill bubble at the bottom of Mark’s stomach. _Oh no_. He knows what’s coming.

“Donghyuck,” he tries anyway. “We’re the library, and it’s ten in the night.”

“So?” Donghyuck challenges. He is tripping with manic energy and it’s everywhere. It’s in the slightly unhinged look in his eyes. The way his knee is bouncing at the speed of light- the table rattles with the force. Donghyuck shakes and shakes and shakes. He’ll pop his cap eventually, and then he’ll spill like soda, all sweet and sticky. “We can be out of the library.”

“It’s still ten,” Mark protests, but it’s weak. He is already putting his notes back into his bag.

It earns him a sharp smirk. “I’m glad college education has taught you how to read time, Markie.” 

“You’re a menace.” 

When the last piece of paper has barely made its way into Mark’s beat-up backpack, Donghyuck his out of his chair, reaching to tug Mark out of his. Mark bats his hands away with a pointed huff, getting up himself. Donghyuck ignores Mark’s irritation with glee.

“Race!” Donghyuck calls out, getting dozens of glares from the tired students. Mark bows in apology to all of them, before running after Donghyuck.

“Where are we going?” Mark yells once the chilly night air hits his face.

Donghyuck throws another wicked grin over his shoulder, not slowing down for a second. The city lights blur as Mark picks up pace. Cars whizz past and he can’t see faces anymore. The stark white of Donghyuck’s sneakers against grey concrete is all Mark can trust now, and he follows anyway.

X

“Will you tell me where we are now?” Mark asks. They’re sitting on the red shingles of a roof, watching the lit-up skyline. Donghyuck has an affinity for high places- he’s always climbing trees and sitting on shelves. It is like he can’t stand being on the ground.

Mark is diametrically opposite to him. He despises heights but he will never let Donghyuck know. These moments with Donghyuck, a half infinity in the passing wind, are all Mark has.

Looking down now makes Mark dizzy. He kind of wants to puke. He takes a deep breath, willing the nausea down and looks at Donghyuck instead. But Donghyuck is already looking at him, a lazy smile on his lips.

“It’s an old hotel. I read that it was built for English people a long time back. They’re going to tear it down in a month so…” he gestures at the roof, “here we are.”

Mark imagines the bustle of people in this place, English men and women talking in posh accents with their extravagant clothes, and their Korean servants running everywhere.

Maybe somebody else climbed this roof pretending their heart wasn’t trying to beat itself out of their chest. Maybe they did it for a boy.

“That’s pretty,” Mark muses. “We’re sort of like- it’s like an aftertaste of history.”

“You’re lovely, hyung,” Donghyuck says, sort of fondly. “But I came here because it’s government property and if we get caught, it’s twenty years of jail time.”

Mark chokes on the night air- the world tilts under Mark’s body. He grips at the slates of the roof, feeling like he is going to fall. “What the _fuck,_ Donghyuck.”

Donghyuck laughs airily. “It’s ok, Mark-yah. We just have to not get caught.”

Mark can’t _believe_ him. He shakes his head before launching into a ten-minute lecture on exactly how irresponsible it was of Donghyuck to do this. Donghyuck nods along sincerely, with a twinkle in his eyes that says he isn’t listening to a word.

It is forgotten when Donghyuck makes some terrible joke that has got Mark laughing. Consequently, it has got Donghyuck laughing at Mark laughing. Donghyuck’s delight spills all over him, light and bubbly. He has popped his cap and let go of all that built-up energy, releasing static into space.

X

When they climb down, Donghyuck wraps himself all over Mark so the older boy can barely move. He lays his head on Mark’s shoulder, curls tickling Mark’s chin. Donghyuck is hugging one of Mark’s arms to his body. He’s sticky with sleep- winding around Mark like a glop of honey, all sweet-smelling skin and syrupy movements.

Mark tries to push him off- it’s too much. Donghyuck has him on the edge of a cliff, the world waiting to turn on the older boy’s head. Having Donghyuck all over him- like Mark is special to him- it’s _too much_. Mark tugs his arm back sharply.

“Hyung,” Donghyuck blinks up at him, eyes warm and treacly. _Oh_. “For me?”

Oh. _Oh_.

Fondness wells up in Mark’s throat, almost tipping him over. But it isn’t wanted- it mixes with the fear of losing his best friend. It has been a long time coming and Mark is helpless to stop it.

In an abandoned hotel, at 1 a.m, he makes a scientific breakthrough. Mark discovers that you only have to let go of gravity to touch the sun.


End file.
